What Is 6G and Will It Replace 5G?

6G doesn’t exist yet, so don’t get too excited. There is no exact timeline of when it will be available to everyone.

For now, we can take a look at what the next phase of wireless technology could bring to the table. This is, of course, mostly theoretical, but how could the new 6G network impact our cellular and internet services? And how would that impact the development of the devices we use?

Let’s dive into what the future and 6G hold.

What is 6G?

6G is a sixth-generation wireless technology currently in development that’s based on 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) standards. It’s expected to become widely available by 2030, but there’s no set date etched in stone just yet. It will succeed the present 5G wireless system.

6G networks will build on existing 4G and 5G technology. According to Qualcomm, 6G will:

• Enhance efficiency in spectrum bands below 6 GHz (low and mid-band)
• Use wider bandwidths in the upper mid-band spectrum range (possibly 6–15 GHz)
• Provide cost-effective means to scale traffic capacity as new applications utilizing 6G emerge
• Use centimeter waves (cmWaves) in the Super High Frequency band to handle most of the workload
• Use terahertz waves (thzWaves) for high-fidelity applications

6G could take technology originally meant for mobile phones and apply it to a much wider set of uses. We’ve already seen this with the 5G network drastically expanding into home internet over the last few years. This can continue to improve seamless connectivity between the internet and everyday life.

What could be the main impact of 6G?

6G is expected to make mobile communications near instantaneous. Technology like terahertz waves and edge computing can drastically improve the way smart devices and the internet impact our everyday lives by boosting speeds and network capacities.

Edge computing moves network management away from centralized clouds towards more localized devices, making everything work more smoothly and reducing response times. 5G currently only runs on a cellular network, but some proposals for 6G include a more extensive connectivity model that could potentially include satellite and Wi-Fi access.

We already have some self-driving cars on the market, but the microsecond latency that 6G could provide would be crucial for the development and widespread implementation of real-time applications for self-driving cars. Having an instantaneous and constant connection to the internet is critical for self-driving cars, so the significant improvements to latency brought by 6G could push the development of self-driving cars more than ever before.

6G has the potential to change the Extended Reality (XR) landscape, too. The speed and reduced latency should allow for quicker environmental mapping, blurring the lines between virtual and real.

But that’s not all. Generative AI. Holographic communication. Smart manufacturing—there are so many potential applications that could bloom thanks to 6G technology.

When will 6G be available to consumers?

6G is expected to roll out around 2030. But nothing is guaranteed—even the term “6G” could be replaced with something else.

It’s hard to say what 6G will look like—after all, it doesn’t exist yet. It’s even harder to know for sure what developments might come with it. Latency could drop to as low as one millisecond, but that will depend on the developments that will encompass 6G and how it works.

Possible terabyte-per-second (Tbps) speeds

Advanced versions of 5G use millimeter wave frequencies to carry vast amounts of data at ultrafast speeds with minimal response time. They have the potential to reach up to 10Gbps, if not higher.

Meanwhile, 6G might use terahertz waves, which are at a higher frequency and would only amplify those 5G speeds. The use of terahertz frequencies could allow 6G to reach speeds of up to 1,000Gbps, or 1Tbps.That’s insanely fast!

Terahertz waves vs. millimeter waves vs. centimeter waves

We’re excited to hear about the incredibly fast speeds that could come with 6G, but there could be a catch to using terahertz waves instead of the current millimeter waves that 5G uses.

Millimeter waves work only over short distances, requiring a “line of sight” between the transmitter and the user. The wavelength is 10mm at the most, so the reduced range is one of the biggest downsides to 5G transmissions as a whole.

Centimeter waves are a bit longer than millimeter ones. They offer better coverage and reliability, but can’t deliver the raw data rate of millimeter and terahertz wave-based transmissions. The use of centimeter waves is a new addition to 6G development and aims to handle most of the general workload, like powering smart cities.

Terahertz waves have the shortest range of the three, adding another layer of complexity to the development of 6G. So while terahertz waves might bring lightning-fast speeds, it will come with a set of location and distance-based obstacles to tackle. This, of course, isn’t the only obstacle to 6G, but it is one of the most noteworthy and impactful obstacles.

Here are the differences between the three wave types:

Possible impacts on VR and AI

Latency is one of the biggest constraints for current wireless networks and technologies tied to these networks. Virtual reality already plays a large role in today’s world, but high latency and slow internet speeds cause delays in the VR system’s response time and hold VR capabilities back.

6G would continue to expand the possibilities and scope of VR with ultra-low latency and faster speeds, leading to seamless response times and more “real-time” experiences, plus less motion sickness.

Another technology that could be dramatically improved with 6G is AI. Just like VR, AI suffers big time from high latency and sluggish internet speeds. With 6G’s possible near-zero latency and insanely fast speeds, we could see potential real-time responsiveness from AI, and you’ll be able to say goodbye to what seems like endless waiting to get a simple answer back from ChatGPT.

Hold your horses—the 6G rollout will take some time

Even though we have solid 5G coverage in the U.S., a lot of cell phone companies haven’t even met international 4G benchmarks yet. Most of the world is still using 4G LTE—kind of surprising, right? 4G and 5G continue to coexist because completely transitioning all devices and networks to a new generation of technology takes a lot of time, money, and resources.

When 6G does stroll into town, we will most likely see it coexisting with 5G for a while before it fully takes over. The transition to new technology is always a slow one, especially when it comes to internet and cellular service.

The gradual evolution from 4G to 5G and now 6G

The cell phone internet technology we have today is based mostly on 4G, a wireless standard that first launched in late 2009. 4G radically boosted data speeds on our phones, allowing users to do online activities like streaming HD video and playing video games.

AT&T, T-Mobile, and other cellular service providers launched 5G in 2018 and 2019. They’ve been busy building up 5G cellular networks across the nation and now boast vast coverage in the U.S. You can even get 5G home internet from Verizon with speeds up to 1,000Mbps.

6G is not set in stone yet and has no official launch date. But we don’t need to look far to see just how quickly technology is advancing. We’re seeing massive improvements to cable and satellite internet, so hopefully, wireless networks won’t be too long or far behind. The 10G platform is already working its way up to 10,000Mbps cable internet speeds. Not to mention, home fiber internet is already hitting up to 50,000Mbps from providers like Ziply Fiber. We’re seeing both internet and cellular networks pushing to improve and evolve with our internet-dependent lives, and we’re eager to see what the 6G network will bring for us all.

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